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on January 08, 2016

Historical Note

A.I.R. Gallery was founded in 1972 as the first artist-run, not-for-profit gallery
for women artists in the United States. The goals of A.I.R. are accomplished primarily
through their exhibition programs: solo shows of Gallery Artists, sponsored solo shows
for Fellowship Artists, group shows of National Artists, invitational solo shows through
the Gallery II Program, and group shows designed to include a broader community of
women artists such as the "Generations" invitational series and juried Biennial Exhibitions.
The gallery also meets its mission by addressing topics of general concern to the
public through lectures and symposia; by bringing the work of its exhibiting artists
to the awareness of museums, collectors and critics; by working with interns and volunteers;
and by making its archive of materials documenting the 30+ years history of A.I.R.
available to the public.

The gallery doors opened on September 16, 1972, with a group show of ten gallery artists.
The event was covered by a broad spectrum of publications from The New York Times
to Ms. Magazine. From the first year, A.I.R. was host to many public- and community-oriented
programs: an internship was established to give gallery experiences to students with
art-related majors; a series of performances, panels and discussions on topics of
art and feminism was created; and invitational shows, at that time called Open Air,
invited non-member artists to exhibit.

The membership of A.I.R. is kept at twenty New York artists who, through monthly meetings
and participation on active committees (such as Finance, Membership, Gallery Maintenance,
Legal), are the governing body of the gallery. The member-artists determine the direction
of the gallery, vote in new members and help sit the gallery each month. Each artist
is in charge of her own exhibition; that is, she curates and installs her work, allowing
for experimentation and risk not always possible in commercial venues.

In the spring of 1976 French critic Aline Dallier was asked to curate a show of contemporary
French women artists entitled Combative Acts, Profiles and Voices. This was the first
in a series of international shows sponsored by the Gallery, such as Women Artists
from Japan (1978); Artists from Israel (1979); Dialectics of Isolation: An Exhibition
of Third World Women Artists in the United States (1980, co-curated by Kazuko and
Ana Mendieta); and Sweden Comes to New York (1981). The tradition of curated and invitational
shows has continued to the present with such exhibitions as: Choice (1992, over 750
small works on the theme of reproductive rights); States of the Art 1993 (curated
by Lowery Sims, Curator of 20th Century Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art); Caught
Between Mind and Body (1994, curated by Betti Sue Hertz of the Bronx Arts Council
on the subject of women's health); Imprint (1994, a photography exhibition); and Members
Choice (1995, a group show by young women artists).

After occupying a gallery space at 63 Crosby Street from 1981-1994, A.I.R. Gallery
was located at 40 Wooster Street from 1994-2002, and is now located at 511 West 25th
Street.